Roger and Tom with Leaders of the 18 Bereen churches in Bukavu, Congo.
August 21, 2012, Tuesday:
Awoke at 6 AM, and went back to sleep until 7am. Took the first of many, many spit baths,..from a basin with a wash cloth. Bukavu water isn't working, and neither is electricity. What else is new?? Breakfast of eggs, toast, fresh mango, & 2 cups of coffee.
Lots of stuff was going on for Renee, (Tom's daughter), and her baby Ella to return to the US today. After they leave for US, I get Renee's room and bathroom. Yay. Basodecki, the houseboy, came at 9AM to start his day. After lunch, Renee and Ella left for a six hour bus ride from Congo thru Rwanda to Kigali,..to catch their flight home to US.
Emile, the Immigration Man who is helping us with papers to allow movement in Congo, came by to pick up our passports, visa, and my letter from the 18 Bereen churches inviting me to come visit. This is required to visit the Congo. Our trip Downcountry to the rainforest where I grew up, looks like we can go on Friday. We would catch a cargo flight,.....which is definitely an ADVENTURE,....& the agent actually promised we'd have SEATS! Say it ain't so, Charlie! Emile returned to say he had set up our passage from Bukavu downcountry, and he will accompany us to Kavumu airport outside Bukavu, this coming Friday. Emile was helping so we won't have any problems with Passports, Visa, Go Pass, or other requirements. Nice of him to offer. We expect he probably wants a gift of some kind.
I talked to Tom for awhile re: Bereen churches and how best to help them. Consensus is that it is very difficult, due to the chaos and danger in this country. The African elders just "wish for the good old days", and want full time white missionaries to come back to help them. Since that is not probable, they want someone to open a US Bureau(Office) to represent their interests, and present their needs and projects to American churches.
Nice, warm, partly cloudy day,..and again very smokey. There are hills all around Bukavu,..and the streets are teeming with people walking hither and yon. Kathy was still busy packing for our trip, and selling Renee's stuff. Tom has many watches, eyeglasses, & radios he picks up in the USA and sells to people here in Congo. Looked through a bunch of it with him.
After lunch, Suzanna and a friend came to see us. Suzanna was born at the Station Katshungu Hospital, and her husband is a doctor. She is SaJacques' daughter,..who worked for many years with my Dad/Mom. Suzanna moved to Bukavu from Downcountry in 2001,..after lots and lots of trouble in her area,....and running to the forest for safety. Altho' she had buried much of her stuff in the forest,..the soldiers followed her, dug it up, and looted it. She lost everything! What a story she has to tell!!!!!
Dinner didn't happen 'til 9PM, because Emile came again and stayed til 9,....this is becoming a pattern with him. Dinner was bread, cheese, pineapple, and water.
More Africans came to buy furniture that was Renee's. After looking, they made a low-ball offer. Tom & Kathy turned it down. They ended up only buying some bags of deodorant & candy from the US. They are starting a store themselves.
This afternoon I helped Basodecki (houseboy) carry HEAVY furniture up 3 steep flights of stairs, to store at Tom's place! Wow,..we were fortunate that 2 younger men came along and helped us with the heaviest items,...PTL. On one of the trips I stepped squarely into an open, full, stagnant sewer! UGH, & UGH! Welcome to Congo! Had to completely clean my shoes, socks, and feet.......
Emile and the transportation agent came by to set up our flight for this Friday, going Downcountry. They will bring a scale later in the evening, as we have to weigh every single item we take,..plus ourselves! The planes used for these cargo flights are just BARELY airworthy,..much less if you overload them! We paid them $300US each, for our passage into the rainforest.
Finally I went to bed at about 10:00PM. Just as I was getting ready, Songa came by to see me again. Talked with him a few minutes,..then, excused myself to bed. The transportation agent never showed up with the scale,...so the next day we used a bathroom scale.
BTW, we had a great "STORYTIME" at dinner, reliving our escapades as missionary kids Downcountry some 52 years ago. What fun! Slept great in my own room!
Rogers
